Track-gage.



No. esmzs. Patented D60. 4, I900.

s. FIERBAUGH.

TRACK GAGE. (Application filed Mai. 12, 1900. (No Model.)

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wvemoz qwmm Q4447 Sum/M 4 NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL FIERBAUGH, OF HUNTINGTON, VEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOJ. C. MILLER, ()F SAME PLACE.

TRACK-GAG E.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 662,925, dated December4, 1900.

Application filed March 12, 1900. Serial No. 8,423. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL FIERBAUGH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hun tington, county of Cabell, and State of West Virginia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Track-Gages,ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is aside elevation of the gage as used on a straight track; Fig. 2, asimilar view of the gage as used on a curved track, the left-hand railbeing the outer or raised rail; Fig. 3, an enlarged plan view, thelifting-bail being removed; Fig. 4, an enlarged transverse sectionalview on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

The object of the invention is to provide a track-gage for use in theconstruction and maintenance of railway tracks which because of itssimplicity of construction and ease of operation will enable a workmanwith no knowledge of engineering to maintain the rails parallel at theproper distance apart and to give the road-bed the proper transverseinclination on curves and to locate the center of the track.

The invention consists in providing a main section of a length equal tothe width or gage of the track, its outer lower corners being cut out toform recesses to receive the rails, as in the ordinary track'gage, and asupplemental or movable section, preferably at the center of the mainsection, said supplemental movable section being pivoted at one end andnormally projected upward at its other end, a suitable level beingcarried by this central section and suitable scale devices beingcmployed, whereby the desired transverse inclination of the track can bedetermined. Suitable adjusting devices are carried by the main sectionand engage the free end of the pivoted section to regulate the upwardmovement thereof.

Referring to the various parts by numerals, l designates the mainsection of the trackga'ge, which may be of any suitable material and hasits lower outer corners out out to form recesses to receive the rails,as in ordinary track-gages. At the center of the upper edge of this mainsection is formed a recess whose end Walls incline inward and downward,and closely fitting this recess is a supplemental section 2, whose uppersurface when the gage is used as a straight-track gage is flush with theupper surface of the main section. Rigidly secured to the righthand endof this supplemental section and to the adjacent upper surface of themain section is a fiat spring 3, which connects the two sections andforms a spring hinge or pivot which normally maintains the free lefthandend of the movable section projected upward away from the main sectionof the gage. The free end of the supplemental section is provided with aplate 4, one end of which projects out over the adjacent upper surfaceof the main section, this projecting end being formed with a centralnotch or recess 5, within which fits a vertical screw 6, carried by themain section of the gage, said screw forming a guide and preventing anylateral movement of the movable section. On this screw is a gage nut 7,which may be screwed down on top of the recessed outward-projecting endof the plate 4 to hold the supplemental section in position to adapt thegage for straight-track work. On one side of the pivoted supplementalsection, near the free end thereof, is an elevation indicator or scale8, and adjacent this scale, but secured to the main section of the gage,is a rigid pointer 9, whose upper end is in line with the upperscale-mark when the gage is adapted for straighttrack work. This pointerfits closely against the side of the movable section and forms a guideand a lateral brace therefor. Secured to the side of the main section ofthe gage, on the opposite side thereof from the pointer 9, is aspringlatch 10, formed with a series of transverse notches 11, which areadapted to engage the adjacent edge of the plate 4, carried by section2, and prevent the upward movement of the free end of said section 2when it is released from the gage-nut 7, and also forming a guide forthe movable section. In the center of the movable section, in the uppersurface thereof, is a spirit-level l2, and directly below the level inthe center of the lower surface of the rigid main section is a dependiugpin 13, by means of which the transverse center of the track may beaccuratelylocated,

In operation when the gage is used on straight-track work the gage-nut 7is screwed down tight to hold the movable section down in the recess inthe main section, as shown in Fig. 1, and the gage is then used in theordinary way. When it is desired to use the device on curved sections oftrack, where it is necessary to give the road-bed a transverseinclination, the gage-nut is.unscrewed to approximately the desiredpoint on its screw, and then the latch 10 is released from plate 4 topermit the free end of the movable section to rise, the spring 3.liftingthe free end of the section 2 until the plate 4 contacts with the underside of the gage-nut. Then by means of this gage-nut the free end of themovable pressed or permitted to rise until the scale 7 on the side ofthis section indicates the inclination it is desired to give theroad-bed. The outer rail of the curved section ofthe track is now placedat such a height that when the gage-bar is placed on the rails the uppersurface of the movable section will be level. The track will then havethe desired transverse inclination. A handle or bail 14 is secured tothe upper surface of the gage to enable it to be readily handled and toprotect the latch 10 and the screw 6.

It will be noted that the catch 10 takes the strain of the spring offthe gage-nut 7 and that said nut may therefore be quickly raised to thedesired point on the screw 6 whenever desired without loss of time andwith but slight effort, and that when it is desired to depress themovable section the same may be pushed bodily downward by the hands andthen held in its depressed position by the catch 10. The gage-nut canthen be quickly and easily screwed down to accurately adjust the movablesection orto clamp it in its recess in the main section. It will also benoted that a feature which contributes to the utility of the device liesin mounting the level-carrying section in a recess in the main sectionshaped similarly to itself, so that said level-carrying section may bedepressed into said recess and be substantially flush with the surfacesthereof and be braced and supported in such a way as to constitute, ineffeet, a part of the main bar and be thereby protected from injury inthe rough handling devices of this sort usually receive. It will also beobserved that by thus employing a level-carrying section normallypressed upward at its free end a much more positive and nicer adjustmentcan be obtained than could be obtained were this section mounted so asto normally rest on the main bar; also, that the screw and spring deviceenables the adjustment to be madevery quickly, as the central sectionmay be held down by the hand or by latch 10 while the screw-nut lS runup or down to get the approximate adjustment.

It will be further obvious that, if desired, the notches in thespringcatch 'lO maycorrespond in number to the divisions on thescale-plate of the elevation-indicator, so that the catch may beemployed to hold the levelcarrying section at the desired point, inwhich case the nut will serve more as a safety device to prevent thelevel-carrying section springing up in case the catch'should beaccidentally thrown out of engagement with it.

Having thnsfully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A track-gage comprised of a main section, a movable section carryinga level and pivoted at one end to the main section, means for normallyelevating the free end of the level-carrying section, a movable latch device consisting of a part carried by the main section and having aseries of notches adapted to engage and prevent the free end of thelevel-carrying section springing upward, a screw device connecting thefree end of the level-carryingsection to the main section and adapted torestrict its upward movement, and an elevation-indicator.

2. In a track-gage, the combination of a main section, a level-carryingsection pivoted thereto, a spring normally pressing the free end of saidsection upward, a springcatch carried by one section and adapted tonormally engage the other section, a screw device carried by the mainsection and engaging the movable section, and an elevationindicator.

3. In a track-gage, the combination of a main section, a-supplementalsection pivoted at one of its ends to the main section and having itsfree end normally pressed upward, a vertical screw carried by the mainsection, a notched plate carried by the movable section and having oneend project over the main section, said projecting end engaging thescrew, a nut carried by the screw, and an elevation indicator,substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

' SAMUEL FIERBAUGH.

Witnesses:

O. H. WHITCOMB, E. T. RoYsE.

